Neuville, a gypsy, had been married twice, but at the time of the murders was widowed. He had seven children, and scratched a living as a junkdealer and by doing odd jobs. He lived alone in a district known as the "schoutt", a former municipal landfill, that had been reforested, but was populated by poor people, who housed in wooden shacks. In December 1978 he risked his life to rescue three children from a burning apartment,[5] an act for which he was awarded the Prix de Mérite et d'Encouragement au Bien.[6]

In the community he was known as "Pierrot le Fou", because he was prone to violence, especially when he was drunk. In 1976 he was arrested for battery,[7] and he had several other run ins with the law, mostly for theft. Two weeks prior to the murders he was indicted for rape and put under judical control, after one of his daughters had accused him of sexually abusing her repeatedly when she was still a minor.[8][9] According to testimonies Neuville stated that he would rather "clean up" his neighbourhood and commit suicide than return to prison.[10]

During the night of July 12, 1993 Neuville was apparently drinking with some of his friends. For unknown reasons he took a 7.65mm pistol and killed two men near the entrance of his barrack, one woman in his living room, and another woman in his bathroom. He also killed a man and a woman in a nearby garden shack. All of his victims, who were aged between 25 and 45 years, were killed with shots to the head.

After the murders the 53-year-old took a taxi and fled to his sister Violette, who lived sixty kilometers away in Folschviller. They talked and drank coffee until three in the morning, when Neuville stated that he was tired and asked her if he could stay for the night. He eventually killed himself on the couch by shooting himself in the mouth. His body was found by his sister the next morning.[8][9]